Last summer I presented a list of the movies I was really looking forward to seeing. Since I got a lot of positive feedback from that one, and because it has been almost three weeks since I wrote anything and I was going into writer's withdrawals, I decided to look ahead at this spring's offerings. The pickings are a little slim, even for your average first quarter, which I'm blaming on the studios putting so much energy and so many movies into the summer schedule this year.

I decided to look at things coming out between now and the end of April. Also, I've left off all of the awards contenders, films such as "Selma," "Cake" and "Inherent Vice," that were given a limited release before the end of the year, yet are only now going wide. You can just assume that I want to see most of those. Once again, this is not a prediction of their quality, just ones I'm looking forward to seeing, as well as those I will avoid like the plague.

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Must see: These are the movies I'm looking forward to seeing this spring, listed chronologically by release dates.

"Blackhat" (January 16)

January is a strange creature on the movie release calendar. For a very long time it was the month where studios dumped their trash, the movies they knew were bad, but they had to try to make some of their investment back, if only a tiny sliver. The same kind of went for September, too. More recently, the studios are seeing that people want something decent to see all year round. When you combine both of those schools of thought, though, it makes it hard to judge how good a film will be, even when you have a great director, like Michael Mann, behind the camera. That being said, the plot for this one intrigues me, especially since it sounds more like fodder for a mindless summer action flick than the heavier films Mann directs, which means that I hope it feels more like "Heat" than "Swordfish."

"Mortdecai" (January 23)

I have read the books that this movie is loosely based from, but that's not the reason I want to see it. In fact, when it comes to the plot, it looks like they have just taken bits and pieces from the books and combined them into one individual story. That's fine. They're odd books to begin with. I want to see this because it looks like someone has finally found a way to give us a modern take on the old Pink Panther movie formula while avoiding the ghost of Peter Sellers that hung so heavily over Steve Martin's ill-advised attempts. That's why I'm excited.

"Jupiter Ascending" (February 6)

Hey, look what's back on this list! This got pushed back from its summer release date, reportedly so they could finish the effects. At the risk of being lazy, let's just revisit what I said last year:

"Right now, this has two things working against it. The first is that many people haven't heard of it, or at least seen a trailer. Second, it's the new film from the Wachowskis. My answers to both of those possible issues are simple. If you haven't seen the preview yet, go find it online. This just plain looks mind-blowing. As to the Wachowskis, I have yet to write them off as entertaining filmmakers. Minus the missteps of the "Matrix" sequels, I have found their movies either fun or challenging or both. I look forward to seeing what my opinion of their movies will be. Besides, it's a sprawling science fiction film about a young woman discovering she's the true heir to the throne of Queen of the Universe AND it's not based on a young adult novel series. So it has that going for it, too."

"Kingsman: The Secret Service" (February 13)

This one just looks like pure fun. Matthew Vaughn has only directed four other films, three of which are based on comics, and all of which are excellent (If you haven't seen his first two, "Layer Cake" and "Stardust," do so immediately). Working from another comic, this feels like the perfect midway point between "Austin Powers" and the James Bond franchise. The only thing I can see people, myself included, having an issue with is Sam Jackson's weird way of speaking as the film's villain. You only get hints of it in the trailers, so I hope it doesn't distract from the rest of the picture, ending up like his character in "The Spirit."

"Chappie" (March 3)

I loved, loved, loved "District 9," and I even enjoyed "Elysium" up to its too Hollywood action flick last act, so I can't wait for Neill Blomkamp's latest. He has a way of making thought-provoking, message-driven sci-fi that also end up being entertaining, mass-appeal fun. This one looks just as good, with a story that takes on the nature vs. nurture debate as it pertains to an experimental government robot now living among a group of homeless people.

"Furious 7" (April 3)

This is probably the movie I'm looking forward to the most. It's also the one I'm looking forward to the least. I have loved this franchise from its humble beginnings, through the surprising third entry and all the way into the over-the-top, nitrous-injected craziness of the recent chapters. So, it will be sad to watch Paul Walker's last performance. No matter how much action they fill this with, there's no denying that the specter of his death will weigh heavily on the movie as a whole. I can already feel it whenever I see the trailer, where they specifically focus on one of his stunts.

"Ex Machina" (April 10)

This one is a toss-up for me. At first glance, I like that for his first stint in the director's chair, screenwriter Alex Garland ("28 Days Later," "Dredd") chose an intelligent sci-fi story about a programmer falling for a female artificial intelligence. On the flip side, I have a feeling that I have its plot already figured out from watching the trailer. Garland is too smart and savvy as a writer for this to be the case. At least I hope he is. We'll see, I guess.

There are a couple of others that interest me. They are the horror-comedy "What We Do in the Dark" and the horror-sci-fi "The Lazarus Effect." But, since they are more independent, I doubt they'll come to Des Moines, so I might have to wait until I can rent them.

Must avoid: I have a feeling at least one of these will get a reaction, so let's get that one out of the way first.

"Fifty Shades of Grey"

Don't get me wrong, I love that the world's housewives finally found a way to read porn out in the open. But, for those of you who are fans of the books, let's be truly honest here: They are not well-written, at all. They are the literary (using that word lightly) equivalent of the movies they used to show on "USA Up All Night," the ones with titles like "Sorority Babes in the Slimeball Bowl-a-Rama." I have not read them, but I did pick the first up at Barnes & Noble once and flipped through it. Wow. Just…bad. Even for something that started life as "Twilight" fan fiction. I can't believe the movie will have improved on the book. The only reason to see this is to feel what it was like to go to an actual porn theater back in the day, minus the sketchy clientele. Though, I guess that depends on where you see it.

"The Boy Next Door"

The tagline on the poster should be, "Look! J-Lo is finally starring in a Lifetime movie!" How did this even get past her manager's assistant, let alone all the way to her desk? Not that I think she's a grand and gifted actress, but she's better than being in something Valerie Bertinelli would have done for the paycheck back in the 1990s. And, I'm pretty sure J-Lo doesn't need the money.

"Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2"

Seriously? No.

There you have it. The very small number of films within the very small number of releases that I think will be actually worth my cash this season. See you back here again at the end of April for my next round of summer picks.